Global Visions for Architectural Education — International Webinar Series (2024–2026)

Abstract

This report documents five international webinars convened by the UIA Architectural Education Commission (EDUCOM) between June 2024 and March 2026 under the series title Global Visions: Architectural Education and the Role of the Architect in the 21st Century. Bringing together more than thirty speakers from across all five UIA regions and engaging over four hundred registered participants, the series constructed a cumulative argument: architectural education must be fundamentally reoriented, not simply adjusted at the margins. Successive webinars examined the evolving role of the architect across pedagogy, practice, and policy; emerging global pedagogical trends including radicant design and decolonised curricula; alignment with allied built-environment disciplines; the connection between research, pedagogy, and practice; and socially engaged pedagogies positioning the architect as listener, mediator, collaborator, civic agent, and critical practitioner. The concluding synthesis identifies pathways for change: redefining professional identity, centring the social dimensions of architecture in studio culture, embracing transdisciplinary collaboration, integrating research with teaching and practice, decolonising knowledge systems, and preparing graduates for uncertain futures. The proceedings triangulate EDUCOM's survey evidence and directly informed the revision of the UNESCO-UIA Charter, offering an intellectual record and a foundation for pedagogical and policy reform.